December 18, 2013

Ha'aretz Headline Fail

Master Sgt. Shlomi Cohen, killed Sunday

In a prominent page 2 headline in Ha'aretz's English print edition today, the claim of a Lebanese soldier who killed IDF soldier Shlomi Cohen Sunday is upgraded to fact. During his interrogation with the Lebanese military, the Lebanese soldier claimed that he shot a suspicious figure near the border fence. As the accompanying article, by Jack Khoury, reported:

The soldier said he opened fire after he identified a suspicious figure only a few meters from the border fence, according to Lebanese security sources. He said the person was making suspicions movements and, being far away from his commanders, he decided on his own volition to open fire at Cohen.

The Lebanese soldier’s version of the events was made available to Israel by UNIFIL, during a meeting between the two sides at the UN organization’s headquarters in Ras Nakura, southern Lebanon, on Tuesday, Lebanese newspaper Al Nahar reported.

And yet, the soldier's claim is misrepresented as fact in the print headline:

In contrast, the online editions, both English and Hebrew, got it right, identifying the Lebanese soldier's claim as just that:

Which means (CAMERA's translation):

Lebanese soldier who killed the IDF soldier: I fired because he approached the border

Sources in Lebanon reported that the shooter said he was far from his commanders and therefore decided on his own to shoot. It is still not clear if steps will be taken against him